This invention relates to a fishing lure of the type wherein fish hooks are movably mounted within a lure body, having a shape and size for attracting fish, so that when the lure body is attacked by a fish, such as by biting it, the hooks are automatically moved from an at least partly concealed position to a protruding position for effectively hooking the fish.
Literature in the field related to design of fishing lures is replete with variations in size, color, materials of construction, hydrodynamic characteristics affecting the lure movements as it passes through the water, and similar variations intended to permit the lure to create an attraction illusion to the fish intended as target species being pursued. In all these cases, the concept is that of approximating behavior and appearance of prey on which the specie normally feeds.
In the prior art, most lures are normally equipped with one or more hooks disposed near the rear of the lure on the assumption that a fish overtaking the lure from the rear will swallow or "strike" it from that position, and inadvertently also swallow the hook(s) at the same time. In all these configurations, the hook or hooks are fixed components of the lure and/or passively dangling appendages.
Unfortunately, having attracted the fish to bite or swallow the lure, many such "strikes" do not result in a "hook-up", i.e. having bitten at the lure rather than swallowing it, the fish is neither securely hooked nor hooked at all. Many fish attack from a variety of directions when they see what they believe to be something to eat. They may be below, above, on either side, or behind the prey when they make their attack. In many cases, as a matter of random direction of the strike, they may bite at the lure and not engage a hook in the process. The "envelope of approach" is spherical rather than a conical shape emerging from the tail. The hook is simply hanging passively attached to the lure in a position believed to be in the line with what is assumed the most probable direction of attack.
Fishermen have control of their tackle, its mechanical condition, its efficiency of operation, strength of the line, and all components of their gear to assure its capability of handling the fish once hooked. Ability to retain a hooked fish on the line during the process of landing it is somewhat related to the skill of the fisherman in addition to adequacy of his equipment. However, ability to land a fish not securely hooked at the outset is marginal at best. While probability of success under such circumstances is highly dependent on the skill and experience of the fisherman, it may be substantially improved by means to produce a greater assurance of a well set hook as soon as the strike occurs.
The concept of improving the probability of securing a lure hook in the fish, by improving the likelihood of hook engagement once the lure has been struck, has also attracted prior art development. Dean et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,355; Zeman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,699; Nileksela, U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,587; Hameen-Antilla, U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,953; and McDiarmid, U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,668, show efforts to mechanically drive the hook into engagement in the mouth of the fish by stored energy means contained within the lure. These have used the energy stored in a spring to drive the hooks outward into the mouth of the fish from a hook or hook assembly stored within the lure body, either triggered by the fish strike or externally triggered by the angler manipulating the line. In some jurisdictions, use of such mechanically driven hooks have been declared illegal.
Active fishing lure hook mechanisms that do not depend upon stored energy activation are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,464,215 to Olson; U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,151 to Bruenig; U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,113 to Multanen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,749 to Dow; U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,220 to Rogers; U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,948 to Huntington; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,679 to Tischer.
In an effort to develop an active hook mechanism that does not depend upon stored energy activation, Rogers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,220) devised a lure containing an assembly of hooks within the lure body and pivotally attached therein to permit them to be cammed radially outward through slots in the lure body provided for the purpose, by a sliding ball within the lure body attached to the line which slides forward when the lure is struck. Unfortunately, the arrangement leaves the entire lure assembly, body and contents, fixed together after the strike has occurred, leaving the fish opportunity to dislodge the lure if it has not been totally swallowed or engorged in the process of becoming engaged in the mouth of the fish during the strike. Several fish species characteristically attempt to dislodge lures and hooks by scraping them on the bottom or against rocks in the habitat (viz.--groupers, permit, etc.).